The Weekend View

South Africans are being encouraged to carefully consider the contents of the food they are eating and giving to their children, particularly processed, packaged foods. Unhealthy packaged food may be high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat - all of which have been directly linked to life-threatening conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. This is why the advocacy group, Healthy Living Alliance, has started a campaign calling for clearer food warning labels to empower South Africans to make healthy food choices. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Healthy Living Alliance's Programmes Manager, Nzama Mbalati... 

A full bench of the Western Cape High Court set aside President Cyril Ramaphosa's suspension of the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. The justices said it was reasonable to perceive the suspension of the public protector was triggered by her probe into the 2020 Phala Phala farm burglary. The Constitutional Court is now set to consider the Court's ruling. Any court ruling that a decision of the President is constitutionally invalid - must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court itself. The presidency has since reacted to the judgement saying the Concourt decision will inform its next steps. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to independent writer and researcher Dr. Dale Mckineley.....

700,000 people a year take their life around the world. In South Africa, there are 23 known cases of suicide every day and for every person that commits suicide, 10 have attempted it. Experts say the prevalence of suicides in our communities points to the mental health crisis we are facing as a society. It is against this backdrop that TODAY the World is observing Suicide Prevention Day. It is a day to promote public commitment and action to prevent suicides. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Cassey Chambers, Operations Director at the South African Depression and Anxiety Group - SADAG -

The South African government has extended the validity of the Zimbabwe exemption permits  by another 6 months. The extension is until June next year.  The Home Affairs department has cited the low number of applications received so far for the extension. 

Health Minister, Joe Phaahla, and Operation Dudula this week reached an agreement to stop picketing outside the Kalafong Tertiary Hospital in Atteridgeville.Phaahla says the protests at the hospital are unwarranted. The Minister visited the facility following the picket by Operation Dudula, which has been ongoing since the beginning of August. It's alleged patients suspected to be foreign nationals were turned away, but Operation Dudula denies this. Tensions once again rose this week , and police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. We spoke to Ferron Pedro, Spokesperson for Kopanong Africa. Kopanong Africa is a coalition of communities, civic organisations  and organized labour against Xenophobia

The tenth edition of the  COSAFA Women's Championship is underway in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. The tournament is the biggest women soccer competition in the SADC features 12 international teams including the home side Banyana-Banyana. The tournament is being hosted for the 5th time in the Eastern Cape. We spoke to the MEC for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture in the province, Nonceba Kontsiwe

Today, the  4th September, is World Leukaemia Day. Leukaemia is a cancer affecting the blood, a cancer of the tissues where your blood is formed, such as the bone marrow and the lymphatic system, causing rapid growth of abnormal blood cells. One of the reasons Leukaemia was so feared is because it's the most common cancer in children under 18. Campaigning for Cancer CEO Lauren Pretorius says we can manage that  fear by equipping ourselves with knowledge about Leukemia

The adversarial battles between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance in the the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality are back to the fore as the DA has announced plans to unseat the ANC from power in the metro. The opposition party says that under the ANC's leadership, service delivery is at an all-time low in the city. This comes as the ANC and other parties ousted Vasco da Gama as Johannesburg council speaker on WEDNESDAY and are now eyeing DA Johannesburg  mayor Mpho Phalatse as their next target.

The Competition Commission has warned that consumers could face opportunistic price increases of sunflower oil. In its latest Essential Food Pricing Monitoring Report, the commission red-flagged high and growing concentration along the sunflower oil value chain. The reasons for the price escalation are being investigated further by the Commission. The report further found that the price of some products, including bread, increased but that the prices have not come down as the economic situation changes.

Environmental activists around the country are celebrating a huge victory after a full bench of judges at the Makhanda High Court on Thursday set aside the 2014 decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to grant an exploration right to Shell to search for oil and gas off the ecologically sensitive Wild Coast. In December 2021, local communities and environmental justice organisations took Shell to court, first to request an urgent interim interdict to stop the seismic testing the company had started in the Wild Coast, a few weeks earlier. Then, in May 2022, the applicants were back, this time asking the court to review and set aside the 2014 decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to grant an exploration right to Shell and Impact Africa to conduct seismic surveys off the Wild Coast of South Africa.